Magazine and cartridge container assembly



Aug. 14, 1956 J 2,758,403

MAGAZINE AND CARTRIDGE CONTAINER ASSEMBLY Original Filed Nov. 4, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

4T RNEK Aug. 14, 1956 J. HILL 2,758,403

MAGAZINE AND CARTRIDGE CONTAINER ASSEMBLY Original Filed Nov. 4, 1949 3-Sheets-Sheet 2 unlw.

1N VEN TOR. k

Aug. 14, 1956 J. 1.. HILL 2,758,403

MAGAZINE AND CARTRIDGE CONTAINER ASSEMBLY Original Filed Nov. 4, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. dob/7 L. fl/V/ 4 TORNEK .with each actuation ofthe. bolt. p It is recognized that many different types of mecha- U cdtates Patent John L. Hill, Houston, Tex. Original application November4, 1949, Serial No.

125,549, now Patent No. 2,624,241, dated January 9, 1953. Divided andthisapplication September 25,

1952, Serial No. 311,356

3 Claims. (Cl. 4217) This invention relates to improvements in a gunaction for automatic, semiautomatic and manually operated guns and is adivision of my copending application Serial No. 125,549, filed November4 ,1949, now Patent No. 2,624,241, issued January 9, 1953, and refersmore particularly to that portion of the action mechanism whichtransfers cartridges from the magazine to the gun barrel. This transfermechanism comprises a rotatable disk constructed to receive thecartridge singly in a slot or trough formed on one of its faces, androtate them through a 90 angle in alignment with the barrel bore so theyare successively inserted into the'fi ring chamber nism have beenemployed to load cartridges from a magazine to the gun barrel. Thedifliculty with such apparatus, however, is that it almost invariablyinvolves an intricate association of parts which arefragile, subjecttobreakage and failure with the continued rough use which mechanism ofthis sort is subjected.

,An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a simplepositive mechanism for transferring cartridges from the magazine to thegun barrel.

Another object is to provide a magazine in which the cartridges arearranged within an enclosure extending longitudinally or parallel withthe gun barrel eliminating the necessity of an excessively strong springnecessary to support the weight of the column of cartridges as well asenergy to feed the cartridges to the action.

A further object is to provide a mechanism in which the operating partsare reduced to a minimum, are rugged and designed to withstand wear andusage over long periods without failure.

Another object is to provide a gun action and magazine assemblypermitting the use of preloaded sealed dispensable containers for thecartridges wherein cartridges arejcharged as a unit in said preloadedcontainer eliminating the necessity of filling a magazine Withinindividual cartridges against the pressure of a strong'magazine spring.

a Other and further objects will appear from the following-description.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification andare to be read in conjunction therewith, there is shown an embodiment ofthe inven- 11011;

Fig. l is a side view of an automatic gun provided with a gun action andmagazine which embodies the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the gun indicating the position of themagazine'extending parallel with the gun action and stock.

3 is "an enlarged vertical section of the action.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section of the action and magazine.

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 3

in the direction of the arrows.

' magazine shown in Fig. l.

2,758,403 Patented Aug. 14, 1956 Fig. 6 is a view taken along the line66 in Fig. 5 in the directionof the arrows.

Fig. 7 is an exploded view of the action and bolt structure.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the transfer disk showing the grooved cartridgereceptacle. 7

Fig. 9 is a reverse view of the disk from that shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a view taken along the line 1010 in Fig. 8 in the directionof the arrows.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the dispensable container in which thecartridges are packed and loaded as a sealed unit into themagazine-seals port at perforations on three sides when broken bymagazine follower and remain attached to the dispensable container.

To facilitate an understanding of the invention and to simplify itsexplanation, the bolt mechanism simulating that of a German automaticpistol is shown. Referring to the drawings and particularly Figs. 1 and2, at 10 is shown a gun stock having mounted thereon a receiver 11 and abarrel 12 threaded at its rear end to engage the internally threadedportion of chamber block 13.v

in its side for the introduction of cartridges introduced to themagazine in asealed dispensable container 16, shown in Fig. 11. The portin the magazine through which the cartridge container is inserted has aclosure plate 15a hinged at 15/5 and held shut by means of a springlatch 150. A knob 15d on the closure plate is an aid in opening andclosing the loading port. To insert the cartridge container into themagazine, follower 17 is retracted against the force-of coil spring 18by manually moving the knob 19 rearwardly along a slot in the side ofthe The handle or knob 19 is attached to the retractor rod 20 and coilspring 18 surrounds the rod rearwardly of the follower which is attachedto its 'forward'end. 1

Behind chamber block 13 and within the receiver 11 is a bolt mechanismdetailed in Figs. '3, 4 and 7. The bolt mechanism comprises bolt block21 longitudinally drilled to receive the cartridge injector bolt andrecoil mechanism. The bolt proper consists of an elongated rod orcylindrical member 22 threaded over a portion of its length as shown at22a, to screw into the internally threaded portion of the bolt block.The forward end of the bolt, including the threaded portion, islongitudinally grooved at 22b, as is the bolt block at 21a, toaccommodate passage of the stationary ejector 23 upon reciprocation ofthe bolt. The ejector is attached to the receiver or outside case of thegun and trips the shell from the bolt after extraction from the barrel,as will be hereinafter described. The hole though the bolt block has ashoulder near the back upon which seats the rim of sleeve 24 enclosingthe rear end of recoil spring 25. The sleeve has a rear closure 24awhich fits into plate 26 at the end of the action. That portion of thebolt rearwardly of threads 22a is of reduced diameter and serves as aguide for the recoil spring. The rear end of the recoil spring abutsagainst the rear closure 24a and the forward end against a shoulderformed in the bolt 22, where the threaded portion of the bolt commences.

Beneath the bolt and adjacent its forward end is an ex-' tractor 2'7attached at its rear end to the bolt and having sufiicient resiliency tospring out and engage, by means of its hooked end, the rim of thecartridge prior to extraction of the cartridge from the barrel. Beneaththe bolt block and rigidly attached thereto or forming an integral partof the block is the forwardly extending disk actuator 28. The front endof .the atcuator has an en- A rearwardly extending plate 13a fromchamber block 13 is apertured to receive a stud or stub shaft 2% extending from one side of transfer disk 29, shown in Figs. 4, 7, 9 and 10. Inthe same face of the disk from which the stud extends is an arcuate slot2% into which fits a pin or stop 30 mounted upon and extending outwardlyfrom plate 13a as shown in Fig. 7. Stub shaft 22%: of the disk bears inthe aperture formed in the chamber block and the disk has rotativemovement through a 90 angle limited by the travel of the stop 30 in thearcuate slot 2%. The oppositeface of the transfer disk from thatabutting plate 13a has a groove or cartridge slot formed therein andextending diametrically acrossthe face of the disk. Parallel ridges 29cand 29d extend across the disk and form the opposite sides of the troughor slot in which is retained the individual cartridges 14 as they aretransferred from the magazine to the gun barrel. The ridge portion 29cis drilled to receive a detent 31 held in place by coil spring 32 andadapted to impose a tilting pressure upon each cartridge as it isreceived in the groove of the disk. The lower surface of the cartridgeslot is tapered slightly, as shown in Fig. 8, to permit canting of thecartridge out of alignment with the firing pin to avoid accidentalfiring of the cartridge before it is injected into the barrel.

Extending between a socket 291i in the periphery of stub shaft 29a and asimilar socket in the bottom of screw plug 33, best shown in Fig. 5, isan over-center spring 34. This spring assures positive rotation of thetransfer disk through its 90 cycle. The edge of the disk is grooved at291:, as indicated in Fig. 10, to receive the disk actuator 23 extendingforwardly from bolt block 21. The edge of the disk is notched within thegroove, as indicated at 29 and 29g in Figs. 3 and 6, to be engaged bythe disk actuator upon operation of the bolt which oscillates the diskthrough its 90 cycle. Initially it is rotated by the bolt action toreceive a cartridge from the magazine and, upon subsequent operation ofthe bolt, the cartridge slot and cartridge are brought into alignmentwith the bolt and positioned so the cartridge can be slid from the diskto the gun barrel upon further movement of the bolt.

The operation of the gun action is briefly as follows: To begin with, asealed container preloaded with car tridges is inserted through the sideport of the magazine with the follower 17 retracted. The front and rearends of the dispensable container are perforated around the edges so theforward pressure of the follower disrupts or bends down the ends of thepackage and permits feeding of the cartridges forwardly through themagazine, as indicated in Fig. 4. With the bolt in a forward position,as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cartridge groove or slot in the side ofthe transfer disk will be parallel with the gun barrel and in alignmentwith the bolt. Cartridges fed from the magazine through its forwardrestricted end arrive at the transfer disk in a position 90 from theaxis of the gun barrel and at right angles to the groove in the face. ofthe disk, as indicated inFig. 4. Retraction of the bolt by means of bolthandle 3d shifts the bolt mechanism rearwardly retracting with it diskactuator 26. Shoulder 28:: on the actuator engages notch 29f on the diskrotating it through an angle of 90 so the cartridge groove in the diskis parallel with the axis of the incoming cartridge. The force offollower spring 1.8 causes the, cartridge adjacent the disk to enter thegroove, as indicated in Figs. 8. and 10. Positive action and rotation ofthe disk through an arc of 90 is assured by overcenter spring 34, whilethe limits of the disk travel are governed by step pin 3% operating inthe arcuate slot 29b. With the bolt in a retracted position thecartridge slot of the disk is rotated so the most advanced cartridge in:the magazine will register with and readily fall into the slot. At thistime the recoil spring 25 is retracted Within sleeve 24 with sear notch36 in the bottom of the bolt block engaged by an upwardly extending searnot shown, actuated through pivoted levers by trigger 37. This triggerrelease mechanism for the bolt block includ ing the scar and actuatinglevers is conventional and has, therefore, been omitted from thedrawing. When the trigger is pressed to fire the gun the bolt block isreleased, the force of coil spring 25 carrying the block and boltmechanism forward. Simultaneously, the disk actuating extension 2.3moves with the block, its front end face 28b abutting the notch 29g ofthe transfer disk before the injector portion 22a of the bolt reachesthe disk. This trips the disk and rotates it in an opposite directionthrough an angle of limited again in its travel by stop 34} as shown inFig. 3. The cartridge lying in the groove of the disk is now shifted toa position in alignment with the bolt and gun barrel. While sopositioned the spring actuated detent 31 cants the cartridge in themanner shown in Fig. 8 so the primer is out of alignment with firing pin22c and premature firing is avoided. The forward force of the recoilspring, besides actuating the disk, advances bolt 22 through the grooveof the transfer disk sliding the cartridge from the disk into the gunbarrel. It is then fired by pin 220 when the forward end of the shell isseated against the shoulder 12a machined in the. firing chamber of thebarrel.

As the injector bolt 22b pushes ,home the cartridge into the gun barrelthe hooked end of extractor 27 engages the rim of the cartridge. Uponfiring of the cartridge the explosive force causes the bolt to be thrustrearwardly, the empty cartridge case being extracted from the barrel dueto engagement of extractor 27 to the-rim of the cartridge. The bolt andcartridge case slide through thedisk slot and thence rearwardly to aposition where ejector 23 abuts the top of the cartridge and trips itdownwardly throughan ejection port 38 in the bottom of the receiver.After the, cartridge case has passed the transfer disk in its rearwardtravel, shoulder 2300f the disk actuator again trips the disk throughits 90 rotation placing the disk in its initial position to receiveanother cartridge from the magazine.

In this manner the cartridges are successively fed from the magazine tothe disk, thence to the gun barrel and after firing are extracted andejected and a new cartridge loaded automatically as long as the triggeris pressed to a firing position. Releasing of the trigger permits thetrigger sear to engage the notch in the bolt block and hold the block ina retarded position thereby temporarily interrupting firing action untilthe trigger is again pressed.

It will be noted that the cartridges are supplied to the magazine inpreloaded dispensable containers by inserting a container unit ahead offollower 17. By locating the magazine parallel with the gun barrel andfeeding the cartridges through the magazine while held in a positionnormal with the axis of the barrel there is avoided the necessity ofusing an excessively strong magazine spring and entailing no handling ofindividual cartridges in operating the gun. Conventionally, thecartridges are fed through the magazine from below so that the springmust not only support the weight of the column of cartridges but musthave sufficient force in excess of the weight of the cartridges to feedthem into the gun action. It is appreciated that no novelty resides inthe bolt and trigger mechanisms shown and explained, but it is believedthat the transfer disk, magazine design and the use of a dispensablesealed preloaded cartridge container are features which are unique inautomatic, semiautomatic and manually operated gun construction.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A magazine and cartridge container assembly for automatic,semi-automatic and manually operated guns, said guns having cartridgereceiving and firing means therein comprising a magazine mountedlongitudinally of said gun to receive cartridges therein, said magazineconnected at one end to the gun cartridge receiving means, a followermounted on said gun relative to the other end of said magazine andmovable therethrough in a motion longitudinal of the gun, a rectangularcontainer sealed at the ends thereof, said container having rows ofcartridges arranged transversely of said container with the primer endsof all cartridges adjacent one side of the container, said containerinsertable intact into the gun magazine, said follower mechanismadaptable to disrupt both ends of said container when the container ispositioned in the magazine and feed the cartridges from the magazine tothe cartridge receiving means in its motion through the magazine.

2. A magazine and cartridge container assembly as in claim 1 in whichthe cartridge container has perforated ends to facilitate disruption ofsaid ends in the feeding action by the follower mechanism.

3. A magazine and cartridge container assembly as in claim 1 in whichthe cartridge container has perforations around three sides of each endwhereby each end forms a hinged tab when it is disrupted by the actionof the follower in the feeding action.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS789,142 Chichester May 9, 1905 2,352,766 Bogue July 4, 1944 2,358,792Conway Sept. 26, 1944 2,584,336 Eisenhardt et a1. Feb. 5, 1952

